Melanie Massey's Interdisciplinary Approach

You heard the adage, “Two heads are better than one.” Well here at Melanie Massey Physical Therapy, we take the phrase to heart, and put all our heads together, maximizing outcomes for our kids and adults. We are able to do this since we have the advantages of Physical Therapy (PT), Occupational Therapy (OT) and Speech Language Pathology (SLP) located in the same clinical setting.

By taking advantage of this situation when ever possible, we become better able to improve our kid’s outcomes by making selected individual department goals, common goals. `To that end, our PT department often provides stable goal directed positioning of patients while OT and SLP works more effectively toward their individual goals.

For example, if one of our kids with Cerebral Palsy is positioned by the PT for lower extremity weight bearing in a freedom stander, instead of simply standing there doing nothing, our PT and/or OT finds this is a perfect opportunity to work with the child on upper extremity strength and control, or manipulations of objects at midline or any number of goals involving the trunk, upper extremity and or head. Additionally, depending on the child’s particular needs, the SLP could use this standing time to address his/her goals as well. In another instance, the physical therapist might simply encourage counting vocalizations by the child paying particular attention to SLP goals.

Here’s another example of our interdisciplinary approach: In the OT clinic, the therapist may want a child to gain trunk control which is necessary in donning a shirt. In the PT clinic, the therapist may want the same child to improve trunk stability, improving his/her ability to ambulate with a walker. Here, the OT and the PT, depending on the situation, might work together addressing trunk control/stability (eliminating duplication of services) allowing more time for working on the functional tasks of dressing and ambulation.

Sometimes, since physical therapy is often much more strenuous than Occupational therapy and Speech Language pathology, we’ll arrange our sessions based on the clients tolerance making physical therapy the last session of that child’s day, which helps ensure better participation in the other departments.

When situations warrant, we work with doctors to safely maximize our influence on client goals as related to functional performance of speech, OT, and PT goals. That said, we give the utmost attention to client medical history and medications which could have a significant impact on the methods we use to provide treatment.

At MMPT, every effort is made to address parental concerns and build lasting relationships with children and parents alike. Feel free to contact our clinic to arrange an in-house tour where you can meet our wonderful staff and see for yourself how effective a well established interdisciplinary approach can be for your child.